Some new pictures

 

This was last night with out after dinner walk. We met a neighbour who was walking her dog. Our neighbour made a point of taking the dog home quickly so she could grab a muzzle and allow the kids to safely interact with her cranky dog. The kids were incredibly gentle with Cleo and Cleo was great with them too and allowed them to handle her and Phoenix to walk her for a while.

 

 

 

 

 

This is Phoenix admiring a bare tree.  

 

On the public picnic table. 

Dancing. Because, why not?



 

Ash having fun



 

Out on an adventure with Jen

 

Phoenix taking chances on our climber

 

Phoenix practising her driving skills

I got to have some one on one time with Wren recently. It was so relaxed to have just one small person to care for

This was the girls first look at the pumpkins I bought for carving

Phoenix helped Grandma make soup



 

 

This was their (Ash and Wren's) first time to a local park

 

 

 

Phoenix immediately made a line for the swings and waited patiently for her turn. She's a total pro at the park and is so good at staying close and listening to our instructions

 

 

We met a park kid who decided he wanted to push the girls. He was a good little companion for a while

Ash

Wren



 

 

This was another walk a few weeks ago. We are all really enjoying the mild fall weather

Anyone can become disabled.

I remember when I was in my first year of parenting Phoenix. I was still reeling from the diagnosis and felt angry and judgemental. I was looking through my lense of ableism and judging Phoenix's life and possibilities.

One of the arguments for accepting a prenatal diagnosis that I read was the "Anyone can become disabled at any time. You don't end their life because of it. " argument. 

I hated that argument. I just felt that it was...reaching. That is was somehow not authentic. 

Because really, what are the chances of your child becoming seriously disabled because of an accident or a health crisis? Pretty low I always reckoned.

Knowing a whole slew now of other  parents within my community I finally get it. It really can happen. It happens all the time. There are no guarantees. It's never been more obvious to me as it is now that Mike has had his stoke.

Mike is now a person with a disability because a stroke is a brain injury. His brain has been permanently damaged. There is no question of this. The point of rehab is not to repair the brain. The point of rehab is to rewire the brain to use differently pathways now that the previous pathways no longer work. This is why rehab involves so many repetitive activities. Because when you forge a new path through a field, it takes many trips to carve out the new route.

So while Mike is my husband rather than my child, the lesson is just as valid. Disability happens. Some are born with it. Some develop it. Some through disease, some through environment, some through accident and some through the addition or subtraction of genetic material.

 But the lesson is the same. Disability happens and it is an inevitable part of life.

One for sorrow

One of the books that Phoenix likes me to read to her at night is a book of nursery rhymes given to her by Grandma Wendy. There are a number of rhymes that I like in this anthology, including the following one:

 This poem just resonates so strongly with me about my journey with accepting Down syndrome. The first step for me was definitely sorrow and the point we are at right now is joyful bliss as my girl continues in her progress with speech and seeks out quiet one on one time with the adults in her life. I am frequently flooded by joyful bliss during these times, enough so that my cup runs over and over and over.